Sin's Rebirth
by JigokuHana
Summary: This takes place 10 years after CoS. I will also be using a bit of reference from the fanmade FMA game: Bluebird's Illusion. Enjoy! Sorry if Ed seems a bit OOC in this fic. Edwin, & mentioned Royai & EdxOC
1. Chapter 1

**FullMetal Alchemist 2: Sin's Rebirth**

**By JigokuHana**

**Summary: This takes place 10 years after the movie: Conqueror of Shamballa. I will also be using a bit of reference from the fan-made FMA game: Bluebird's Illusion. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING in this fic except the plot. Enjoy my lack of wealth in the FMA department!**

**Here are the character's ages:**

**Ed 28**

**Al 23**

**Winry 28**

**Trisha 4**

**Year in Our World: 1933**

_**Chapter 1: Fathers:**_

"35 liters water…"

"7.08 liters carbon…"

"645 milliliters calcium…"

"780 grams phosphorous…"

"140 grams potassium…"

"140 grams sulfur…"

"100 grams sodium…"

"95 grams chlorine…"

"Magnesium, iron, fluorine, ammonium, iodine, silicon, zinc… I hope I don't forget anything…"

Red water bubbled within gigantic tubes around the transmutation circle, a large glass box filled with water-like chemicals sitting in the middle.

"There. Done. Don't worry, dear. Everything's ready to bring him back. And when we do we'll have him fix you."

A large, paw-like hand carressed her smooth cheek lovingly.

"My little girl. Don't worry darling. Edward will be here soon. Then you'll feel all better, sweetie."

Shou Tucker's eyes glinted with madness, while cradling the soulless imitation of his deceased daughter.

"Yes...I'll bring him back. So he can fix you...Nina."

-------------------------------------------------------------

"DADDY!!"

Edward Elric didn't have time to react as a golden blur crashed into him, effectively knocking him to the floor of his home. He groaned as he lifted his (Now throbbing) head up. His eyes met a pair of identical golden irises, those that belonged to his 4 year old daughter Trisha Elric.

Ed let a small smile cross his face. "Hey there sweetie. Did you behave for Uncle Al?", he questioned.

Trisha bobbed her golden head in a sincere 'yes'. "Yeah! Uncle Al and me drew pictures, and played house, and played hide-and-go-seek and...!", Trisha rattled on until her father quickly quieted her with a loud raspberry to her cheek. Trisha shrieked with laughter, pouncing off of Ed to run to the safe haven of her beloved uncle.

Alphonse Elric quietly cooked dinner, smiling as he heard the commotion in the living room. Ten years had passed since he and his brother had come to the other side of the Gate. They had spent 2 years searching for the uranium bomb that had been transported from their world, & had successfully hidden it away where they were sure nobody would find it. Living in this world was difficult, but they had gotten used to it. Times were rough for everyone, since jobs had become more scarce as the years went by. Ed & Al had become so used to being able to afford as much food as they had needed during their travels back in Amestris. They had moved around until they had found a small house in the countryside outside of London. Funny how things turn out, since a few days later they had met a young woman by the name of Wendy Rockwall while Ed had been out getting some food. They had become fast friends with her, that probably having to do with her being Winry's double in this world. His brother & her had soon become closer, Ed always seeming to be happier, and yet still a bit sad, around her. A few years later they had been married, but sadly Wendy had died giving birth to Trisha. Edward had been so depressed. It was pathetic & heartbreaking to watch. His brother had moped for 1 solid year, before the message got across that Wendy wasn't coming back...and that he had a little girl to love.

Al suddenly felt a warm body press against the back of his legs. He smiled, looking down at his niece. She was practically a female version of Edward. Golden eyes, bright blonde hair, a temper, and a nasty habit of talking back to people. She shrieked & clung to his legs, giggling like crazy as her father entered the kitchen.

"Save me Uncle Al! Daddy's gonna get me!", she cried happily.

Ed smirked, playfully faking anger. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna getcha! I'll teach _you_ to knock down the FullMetal Alchemist!"

Trisha shrieked once again, darting from Al's legs and back out into the living room. Ed kept pursuing her.

"Don't get too tired, Brother! Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes!", Al called out.

"Tell that to the little juggernaut I'm chasing!", Ed shot back.

Alphonse shook his head with a smile & went back to cooking.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Tucker smiled madly.

He had done it. He had brought Edward back!

He lifted his paws off of the array, the red glow fading away.

A mangled body half-floated in the glass container, the tubes of red water surrounding it gone.

The thing choked out a first breath, it's lungs filling with life-sustaining oxygen. His breaths came out as raspy, choking gasps.

Tucker's smile remained. He had prepared for this. He lumbered over to a corner of the room, to a large shelf. His brown paw grasped a jar filled with shards of red stones. His mutated body walked over to the container, watching the wriggling mass of steaming flesh & organs gasp for breath.

Tucker held out his paw, red stones glinting in his palm. A protruding arm grasped at the stones, shoving them down it's gaping maw, sharp teeth demolishing them in seconds. Pain surged through the thing, screams ripping from it's throat as the stones shifted it's bones, flesh & organs.

An hour ticked by, and Tucker kept feeding the growing mass. It's piercing, monstrous screams of pain turning more human by the minute.

...Silence...

The mass had now taken on the shape of a teenaged boy, blood-red swirls & designs decorating it's body. Flowing blonde hair sprouted from it's skull, the thing's eyes screwed shut.

Tucker chuckled, "Yes! I've done it. He's finished!"

His chuckles soon grew into raspy, laughs of a madman.

The creature rose from the waist up out of the liquid-filled container. It's golden hair soaking wet, chemicals cascading down it's well muscled form.

It's eyes twitched, then snapped open...revealing irises the color of alchemized gold.

The mark of the orobourous marred it's left shoulder.

Tucker's laughs still echoed through the laboratory.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Memories of Edward:**_

Sweat rolled down Winry's face as she worked. The automail arm she was working on belonged to old Mr. Porter, the owner of the bakery in Resembool. A few more minutes passed as she screwed the final bolt into the metallic limb. Her hand rose to wipe the persperation off of her summer-tanned face. She looked down, inspecting every inch of the arm, every nut & bolt until she was satisfied with her work. She smirked. She knew it was better to be safe than sorry with automail. She definately didn't want to make another mistake like the one she had made with _Ed's_ arm...

Her satisfied smile soon sank down to a saddened frown.

Ten years. And she was _still_ thinking about him. Winry had married after a few years, of course, but sadly had divorced a few months ago. But...though she instictively knew Ed and Al didn't _plan_ to come back to Amestris, and that she wouldn't have to worry over them anymore, she couldn't help but think something was going to happen to them. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

_"I'm being stupid."_, she thought.

She turned her head a bit to see her dozing customer. He had fallen alseep during the maintnence, since she hadn't needed to remove his arm completely.

"Mr.Porter? Yoo-hoo."

She tapped him on his flesh shoulder, soon stirring the aging man from his sleep.

"Hm? Oh! I'm sorry Miss.Winry! I musta dozed off."

Winry waved a hand in dismissal & smiled.

"Oh it's no trouble! It only tells me that I wasn't hurting you or anything. Now, since the maintenance is done, I'll just go get you some oil for the arm."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Winry stood waving the man goodbye from her porch. She kept the smile on her face until Mr. Porter was out of sight. Then her smile slowly turned downward sadly. She was alone again. The empty house only housing her now, since Grandma Pinako and Den had passed away 5 years ago. Not to mention her ex-husband had moved out after their divorce.

"I wouldn't have minded too much if I had been alone back then. But now I don't even have anyone to _wait_ for anymore.", she said to herself.

Winry turned & walked back into her home, her footsteps seeming to echo through the wooden structure.

She then turned to the photo board. Memories were pinned up onto it, forcing her to relive every one. The good times, the bad times, they raced through her mind at lightspeed...soon forcing hot tears to cascade down her face.

"Why do I even _keep_ that thing?", she said bitterly,"It only makes me _miserable_."

She had pictures of her and Elysia; the daughter of the deceased Maes Hughes.

She had pictures of Grandma, & Den; both now dead as well.

She even had an old photo of her parents; both having long died in the Ishbal Rebellion, by the hands of Roy Mustang; a man she now somehow respected.

The tears kept falling.

She then looked at the other pictures.

The ones carrying the images of her two best friends.

The ones with a young boy, and young man; both the same person, with golden hair and eyes.

And surprisingly...the tears began to fade.

He was always so _stupid_. Breaking his automail, then never even telling her how it was destroyed. Always trying to stay so strong for her and his brother, that she hardly ever saw him cry. But when he _did_ cry, it was only to her and Al that he did it in front of. That alone proved he was ready to show his weak side to the two of them. Only them. Because he trusted them enough to do so. _Cared_ about them enough to do so.

Her tears stopped.

When he was angry, his eyes lit up. Like gold mixing with fire. When he was sad, his whole face showed it. But in his eyes, there was a multitude of pain, suffering...and _fright_. Fright like that of a child who just had a long, horrifying nightmare, and thought it would never end...But when he was happy, _truly_ content, his smile would always be small. Genuine. Loving. And in his eyes there would be such warmth and love in them, you wouldn't be able to keep yourself from blushing. In _her_ case at least.

Winry smiled. Though he was impossible to reach now along with his brother, just thinking about him put a smile on her face. And her heart sped up considerably.

_"Because memories are the only things of you I can keep close to me, Edward."_, she thought.

She looked at the photo board with a newfound sentimentality.

"Maybe...I'll keep it up for a _little_ longer.", she told herself.

But as she walked into the kitchen for some lunch, that same feeling from earlier resurfaced.

That the Elrics would soon be in trouble. And that something _big_ was going to happen.

...And _she_ was going to be a part of it.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Monster:**_

I hear laughing. I moved my head to the left, & saw a large, brown creature standing with it's back to me, cradling something.

I smelled something. My nose wrinkled at the stench. It was horrible. It smelled like something dead and rotting. I instinctivly placed my right hand over my nose & mouth to block the smell.

Wait.

My right hand. It was flesh and bone. That...wasn't right. Wasn't it suppossed to be different? The same with my left leg.

I can't remember very well. My mind is hazy.

Maybe if I could just sleep for a...

"Hello Edward."

I froze. My hand dropped from my face, like it no longer functioned.

That voice.

I turned my head to the creature once more. I saw it had a human face and torso, though the face was upside-down.

"I'm glad to see your awake. Nina is very sick. I'd like you to fix her for me.", the creature said.

Nina..._Nina_...

That name was familiar...and painful.

_**Blood was splattered all over the alley wall. I cried. I repeatedly clapped my hands & slammed them onto the remains of the body. No...**__**two**__** bodies. **_

_**A girl with long, brown, braided pigtails...and a big, blonde dog. **_

_**A creature with long brown hair sprouting from the length of it's blonde, fur-covered spine. **_

_**I punched a man's face, his lip breaking open, spilling a bit of blood.**_

_**"You don't really think you're any different from me, do you Ed?"**_

_**"Brother! You'll kill him!"**_

_**"No..Big...Brother."**_

_**"This guy used his own wife Al!!"**_

_**"An easy process when you use people, RIGHT!?"**_

_**"Careful, you'll just do to her what you did to your mother."**_

My eyes went wide.

Mother.

I heard voices. All melding together. All of them were so painful.

_**"A ring of flowers would be nice. Your father...**__**always**__**...used to make them for me."**_

Mom's last smile.

_**"We're going to bring her back."**_

We were determined.

_**"BROTHER!!!!!"**_

_**"The Truth was inside there! EVERYTHING WAS IN THERE!!!"**_

_**"Just give him back...HE'S MY BROTHER!!!!!!!"**_

We failed

_**"What about mom?"**_

_**"It wasn't human."**_

We made a monster.

_**"Brother, I could never...I COULD NEVER HATE YOU!!"**_

Al.

_**"Because you won't. None of you will, so all this time I've cried for you both."**_

Winry.

_**"It's a circle to help your wish."**_

Nina.

_**"So you're hiding in disguises now!?"**_

Izumi.

_**"Do you hate me for all that's happened?"**_

I was scared.

_**"That's enough, Dante!"**_

The Philosoper's Stone.

_**"That is how the damned are born. **__**That**__** is a homunculus!"**_

Wrath.

_**"Nicely done...sweetheart."**_

Sloth.

_**"Will you make me a human?"**_

Lust.

_**"Edward, I love you."**_

Rose.

_**"Give Al...my regards."**_

Dad.

_**"Needless to say I didn't like being replaced."**_

Envy.

_**"But I want something more!"**_

Noah.

_**"I will give you a moment to pray."**_

Scar.

_**"Goodbye, FullMetal."**_

Roy.

_**"Just don't forget me."**_

...Alfons.

_**"BROTHER, NO!! I JUST GOT YOU BACK! YOU CAN'T GO YET!!"**_

I clenched my eyes shut. I screamed.

The memories were too painful!

All that blood...death...pain...Al.

Our journey.

I collapsed into the tank I was in.

I was tired.

My energy was drained.

My head ached.

"Edward? Are you alright?", the creature questioned.

Tucker. The bastard.

"I'll need you to be well to help Nina.", he stated.

That's right. Tucker was nuts. He thought that soulless doll was Nina.

He looked at the remains of the doll now.

It was rotting.

Black-like organs called flies to feed on it. There was a hole in it's stomach where the skin around it was tinted green. It's blue colored eyes were festering like the rest of it's body.

The doll was merely a pile of rotting meat. There was hardly anything left to make it look remotely human.

"That's not Nina. She's dead.", I replied.

"Nonsense. She's right here. Come on dear, try to say hello to Edward.", he said as he moved the doll a bit.

The doll did nothing.

"She's just very sick, Ed. I need your help.", he said.

I shook my head.

"Edward. One should really listen to their creator.", he stated.

_That_ caught me off guard. Their _what_? Tucker was definately out of his box if he thought _he_ created _me_.

"What the _hell _are you talking about?!"

Tucker smiled.

"Take a look at your left arm, Ed. You'll see what I mean then."

What? What was on my left arm?

I looked...and my mind shut down.

A red tattoo.

Right on my shoulder.

Of a serpent devouring it's own tail.

The Orobourus.

The symbol for a...homunculus.

Everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: Precious Daughter:**_

Edward silently watched his daughter as she snuggled closer into her blankets. He smiled. She was so innocent, so beautiful...it was hard for him to believe something so precious had come into the world because of him. He gently stroked her golden hair, feeling the silky texture. She was so delicate...she needed him, depended on him. How could he have ignored that before? She deserved so much better. Al should've been her father instead, since he had a natural way with kids.

_'I suck at this. I really do.'_, he thought.

When Wendy died, he could hardly even look at his daughter. She was so happy & smart...just like her mother & Winry. He couldn't stand it. He virtually ignored her existance except for the rare glance for an entire year.

Until Al told him something.

Something that had snapped him out of his depression.

That had made his heart stop.

It was forever engraved in his mind.

**Flashback**

_Edward sat on his bed, his arms folded on his knees._

_He heard the door to the room creak open. The footsteps were too heavy to be Trisha's._

_"Brother."_

_It was Alphonse._

_"...What?"_

_"Trisha asked me something today while you were at work."_

_Ed said nothing._

_"She asked who you were, Brother."_

_Ed tensed. Just a bit._

_"She asked, & I quote, 'Who the man who lives upstairs is'."_

_Still nothing._

_Al spoke, his voice rising with each sentence._

_"Brother, this is getting ridiculous! Wendy's dead, Brother! She's gone! She's never coming back! Get over it & remember you have a daughter now!"_

_Ed's head dipped lower into his folded arms._

_"Brother...if you don't come downstairs & start acting like a father right now...I'll never forgive you."_

_Ed's head shot up, but he still remained silent._

_Al sighed, & turned toward the door._

_"You're right Brother...you're not like Dad. You're worse. Dad left us because he cared about us. Sure, he left, but from what you've told me, & what I remember, he still loved us. You haven't left, but how long will it be until it comes to that? And what's worse is that you won't be doing it because you care about Trisha, but you'll be doing it just to run from your past. That's all you've been doing since we tried to bring mom back. Wendy's dead. She's never coming back. But if she or any of our friends, new & old, could see you now...you know what, forget it. Do what you want, Brother. But Trisha needs her father. I won't be around all the time. We're adults now, Brother. We been adults for 10 years now, maybe more. But you're still acting like a scared little kid. And tell me Brother...how can a scared little kid take care of an even younger little girl?"_

_Ed sat as rigid as a board of wood._

_"I call you when dinner's ready."_

_Al closed the door._

_Ed let a single tear run down his face._

_Alphonse heard Edward descend the stairs. Trisha looked up from her blocks. She had spelled the word 'dog' with them. Though she was only 1 year old, she was incredibly smart...just like her father. She could already walk & talk in small sentences._

_Ed walked over to them. Al's face harded. Trisha tilted her head to one side in curiousity._

_Edward kneeled down to Trisha, & smiled._

_Trisha smiled back. "Hi! Who're you?", she asked._

_Edward felt tears in his eyes._

_"I'm your dad, Trisha.", he said, his voice shaking._

_Trisha looked hard at him for a bit, then stood up, grabbing his hand & pulling him toward her room._

_She looked up at him, beaming._

_"C'mon Daddy! I wanna show you aw da pwetty pictuwes I dwew!", she chirped happily._

_Alphonse smiled, letting tears roll down his face._

**End Flashback**

Ed quietly shut his daughter's door, & began walking downstairs. Though it was kinda late, he just needed something to settle his stomach. Thinking about that day always made him feel sick.

His still-shoed feet clicked against the tile as he checked the icebox.

Hm...nothing. A couple of bruised apples & some bread...

His face scrunched up as he saw the last item.

Milk. God, why people deemed that horrid, creamy stuff _nutritious_ was beyond him.

He glared at the icebox for 5 more minutes, as if it was the reason they had no food.

...They definately needed to go shopping tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: Peace of Mind:**_

The darkness lifted. He felt numb.

He stared at the celing, his mind not comprehending anything around him. It was like his brain had shorted out or something. Hell, it _could've_ considering his recent discovery. After seeing that damned tattoo, the grim reality had hit him full force.

...He wasn't _real_.

He was fake. A living doll. A _monster_.

A homunculus.

Even after the realization had set in, he still shuddered at the cruel irony of it all. For 4 years of his life he had fought to destroy the homunculi. To tear them down to their most basic & harmless form so they would stay out of his & everyone else's lives.

Now what? Would he kill himself? Why not? He had done it before to bring back A...!

His eyes widened a fraction.

His memories! They were all there! That wasn't right! How could Tucker have given him his memories if he & Al had passed through to the other side of the Gate!? How long ago was that anyway? Tucker's fur seemed to be grayer in color. He remembered passing through the Gate it like it happened 2 hours ago, but looking at his new body, he couldn't have been more than 15! Now_ that _was screwed up. Having memories of his 18 year old self in his 15 year old body.

Who was he kidding? This whole situation was screwed up!

(AN: Pride!Ed has every memory Ed has until he & Al closed the Gate in our world.)

His whole _existance_ was screwed up thanks to Tucker!

...Tucker.

That bastard.

_He_ did this to him!

Tucker had made him break down like a _little kid_! Where did he get the _nerve_!? What right did _he_ have to ruin his life!?

His golden eyes started to become poisoned with violet. His pupils stretching to become cat-like slits.

His teeth sharpened into hard fangs.

A giant scythe, seemingly alchemized from the tub of chemicals, appeared in his palm.

It cleanly cut through the glass tub, allowing him to step through unharmed.

(AN: He's also wearing a tanktop like Envy's, black pants & shoes, and a pair of gloves: his left one longer than his right. How they got there...who knows. It's an unanswered question among _all_ the homunculi.)

Tucker smiled dementedly. "Yes! Thank you Edward! With your help, Nina will be better in no time."

He said nothing as he passed the insane chimera. He pondered Tucker's name for him. Edward Elric. No. Edward Elric was not who he was. He was merely a sin that had been born of madness and human transmutation. He supposed a new name would have to do. But for now...

He turned towards Tucker, who cradled the rotting meat he still called a daughter.

"Tucker. May I see 'Nina' for a second?", he asked.

Tucker hestitated, reluctant to let go of his precious bundle, but soon nodded & handed the dead chimera over.

Before, even _looking_ at the rotting girl had made him sick...but now it felt like it was perfectly sanitary. Holding the thing didn't make him shudder or give him the want to vomit at all. He saw it differently now. It was merely a piece of meat that had outlived it usefulness. And when something outlives it's purpose, it's no longer wanted. So, naturally, it must be disposed of.

He walked a few feet away from Tucker, one of his tattooed arms coiled around the stinking thing as if he were trying not to break it. The other held his scythe. He faced Tucker.

"Tucker...when did 'Nina' get sick?"

Tucker smiled sadly, "I'm not sure. I think it started 2 months ago."

"Has she spoken at all during that time?"

"No. She's become mute since I brought her back, sadly. I think it has something to do with...!"

"Has she been eating at all?"

Tucker's smile grew worried, "No. I've tried to get her to eat, but she refused every ti...!"

"Has she moved at all since you brought her back?"

Tucker grew nervous at his tone, "Well, no. I-I've been carrying her. She's been too weak to...!"

"Tell me Mr. Tucker. 'Nina' hasn't been eating, walking, talking, or even _moving_ since you revived her, & that doesn't strike you as odd at all?", he sneered.

"W-well I...!", Tucker stuttered.

"And if she is indeed 'sick', didn't it occur to you that flies don't gather around 'sick' people, and that 'sick' people's organs aren't flopping around & rotting everywhere? Or that they don't have hardly any remaining human features due to the fact that they have hardly any skin left? Tucker, I might have mentioned this a few times before, but I'm getting tired of wasting my words on deaf ears."

The doll left a stinking spot on his chest where he had been cradling it, as he held it out at arm's length by it's hair.

Shou Tucker panicked at the doll's 'pain'.

"Edward! What are you doing!? You're hurting her!", he cried softly.

He placed his scythe's blade at the doll's torso.

"This, Shou Tucker, is the only way to prove to you what's been obvious these past years."

At these words, the blade cleanly sliced through the dead chimera's soft body, spilling what was left of it's organs and blood onto the floor, staining it a disgusting color combo of red, black, & purple. The remaining half of 'Nina' made a loud 'splack' as it hit the fithy floor as well.

Tucker stared horrified for 10 seconds, before crying out hoarsely and kneeling next to the bloodied mass, trying desperately to put everything back in place.

He stood watching the crazed chimera for a minute. Then, still soaked in the doll's blood, the blade's tip slightly nicked at the base of Tucker's neck. Tucker froze.

"E-Edward...p-please...!", Tucker blubbered out.

A cold smirk crossed the newborn homunculi's face.

"Think of it this way Tucker. You can finally be with your wife & daughter _forever_...just like you've wanted.", he replied.

Silence reigned from Tucker.

"Just think of how happy they'll be to see the one who destroyed their lives."

Tucker paled in fright.

"Give Nina my regards."

The blade sliced the maniac chimera's head from his body.

Ending not only the life...but the madness of Mr. Shou Tucker, the former Sewing Life Alchemist.

He withdrew his blade, shaking it off a might to rid it of some of the blood.

Now...about his new name.

He was a sin, so he should have a sin's name right?

He smiled evilly.

Pride.

Yes...he could live with that.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Deal With The Devil:**_

Both enemies faced each other, cold resonating from each. Both refusing to give in, to back down.

It was a tense moment.

Edward glared venemously at the bottle of freshly bought milk that _dared_ to sit in front of him. Ed was so caught up in trying to glare the milk to death, that he was completely oblivious to his little brother and daughter walking into the kitchen.

Alphonse sighed at the routine 'battle'. He grasped the neck of the bottle & gently removed it from Ed's sight.

His brother continued to glare at the spot where his 'old-time enemy' had sat just seconds before.

"...Dunno why you buy that crap, Al. It tastes just about as good as sewer water.", Ed grumbled.

"Says the man who_ likes _milk in stew.", Al replied smugly.

Edward flushed, annoyed that Al still remembered that little detail about him. He shot up out of his seat, and spun around to tell Al off...when he was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Brother! Are you okay!?"

"Daddy?"

Ed grasped his head in pain. What was going on? Was he sick? No, he had been fine all day, he thought to himself.

Suddenly, he heard tiny whispers echoing through his mind.

_'Heeheeheehee. Golden boy...we have your...arm and leg...want them back? Nope...they're ours...ours forever...like your mother...and the chimera girl. All of them...dead...heeheehee...come play with us...give us his body again...heeheehee!'_

Ed's eyes shot open.

"SHUT UP!!", he screamed.

Al and Trisha fell back onto the floor in shock.

"Brother! What's wrong!?", Al cried once more. Ed heard him this time, & was snapped out of his nightmarish vision. Trisha stared at the scene, unmoving from her spot on the floor.

He heard Al call him again. Edward didn't listen, he was too busy looking at his hands. In half a second, he swore he had seen a sparkle of energy course through his hands.

_'No. It can't be! That's not right, we closed it!'_, he mentally screamed.

Al was now shaking his shoulders. Edward grasped his little brother's hands, & stared directly at Al's eyes.

Al nearly fell back, as he had seen the look of horror in his brother's eyes. Edward spared Al from his wide eyes, and instead slowly lined up his hands in front of him.

...He clapped, & pressed them to the floor.

A few seconds passed...nothing. Relief began to fill the Elrics...but it was short lived.

Edward soon felt the raging pulse of alchemy through his body.

A light, which seemed to be as bright at the sun, enveloped the kitchen.

As the light faded, to any onlooker, the kitchen had seemingly been left alone. But with a small difference.

...It was missing 3 Elrics.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Edward, Alphonse, & little Trisha stood frozen in the haunting presence of the Gate, the white-washed evironment around them doing nothing to ease them.

Ed soon regained his senses, walking a few feet forward until he was 5 steps away from the closed doors.

"What do you want?", he asked coldly. "We already gave up our lives in Amestris so we could be together. What more do you want from us?"

There was silence for a few minutes, then slowly, the marble doors creaked open, allowing small, slithering, black hands out into the open space. Ed tensed, gritting his teeth as the tiny fingers caressed his face, as he allowed himself to be pulled into the dark inner sanctum of the Gate. He could vaugely hear Alphonse and Trisha screaming his name, begging the Gate to release him. The Gatelings paid no mind to their screams. Ed felt fear pulse through him as the Gate's doors slammed shut.

...Darkness. He couldn't see anything at all. Unfortunately his sense of touch was functioning just fine. Seemingly thousands of black, child-like hands grasped at him. Clothes, skin, hair...the gatelings clawed ineffectively at them all. Whispering giggles floated in the black void, making the fear within him even stronger.

A pair of violet eyes winked into existence, merely a few inches from his face.

The hands ceased most of their clawing. Now they merely held him in place.

_'Golden boy...we want what's ours...we want it back. HE took it...get it back for us...Golden boy.'_

Ed regained his voice. "What's yours? What do you want me to get back for you? I don't really think you have any right to make orders of me. I've given up so much to you little bastards."

The voice that answered seemed slightly irked. _'One of us...was taken...from here, want...him back. You...WILL help...or we take...and take...and take...until the little one's gone. Heeheeheeheehee.'_

Ed's eyes widened in horror.

Trisha. They were threatening to take away _Trisha_!

"NO! Please! Don't take her, she's one of the only things I've got left!! What do you want me to do! Just tell me how & I'll do it!", Ed cried out desperately.

The giggling started again.

_'In the alchemy world...one of us is...trapped inside...of dead Golden boy. Bring the dead...Golden boy to us...we take him away...like the others. Help us...we never come back...won't bother you...again.'_

"You...you'll send me back to Amestris? And whaddaya mean '_Dead_ Golden boy'? How can someone dead be...?"

Ed paused. Someone dead who's walking around. Only one thing fit that description,...a _homunculus_.

Edward gave the proposition some thought.

_'If I agree',_he thought,_'I'll get to go home again. Though for how long is one of the main questions. Catching and destroying a homunculus takes time and planning. It took me and Al 6 years to destroy all of them before. Another question is...will I be able to take it? Seeing all our old friends who've probably forgotten us by now._

_...And Winry. She's probably married with kids by now. Can I handle tha...? Wait!! What!?'_

Edward shook his head fiercely.

_'What the hell does that have to do with anything?!'_

He felt a black hand slide over his arm. He tried to focus. He mentally weighed the pros & cons.

...He decided.

Ed stared into the violet eyes. "I'll do it. But let Al and Trisha come with me..._please_."

The eyes stared. Then, a few inches below them, a white-toothed grin broke out.

That stupid giggling started again.

...Edward whited out.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Winry quietly wiped the dishes clean, a small squeak issuing every time she did so. She had just finished her lunch. Sheska had been over a few hours ago for a brief visit. They had chatted about the weather, books (Well, that had been mostly Sheska), and many other things. It was good to have people over, since Winry got terribly lonely every once & a while.

She sighed, and started to place the last dish in the kitchen cabinet.

_**RING!!!**_

Winry nearly had become the owner of a bunch of plate shards, as she almost dropped the plate in her hand due to the sudden noise.

Winry quickly rushed to the phone, the plate still in hand.

"Hello, Rockbell Automail, prosthetic limb outfitters. Huh? Oh! Hello Riza! How's Roy doing...!"

_"Winry...", _Riza said, _"...Here at Central...they're back."_

The plate fell to the floor with a resounding crash.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: Motherland:**_

Winry's boots pounded the cobblestone as she ran through the streets of Central. She grasped a wrench in her hand, gripping it so tightly that she was sure her knuckles were white. On her right, the strap of her automail maitenance kit clung to her shoulder desperately.

Tears streamed down her face as she ran.

Riza Mustang's words still rang through her head. (AN: Yes. Riza _**Mustang**_.)

_'Here at Central. They're back.'_

Riza didn't need to tell her _who_ was back.

...Ed and Al.

After _10 years_, they were back. After Riza had told her they were at the Central hospital, she had immediately grabbed her wrench and kit and rushed to the train station. Two hours of just sitting on the train had been torture in itself. As soon as the train had stopped, she had bolted from her seat, pushing anyone who was in her way aside (And apologizing quickly afterwards).

Central Hospital. Second Floor. Room 205.

Winry had practically branded the info into her head. She was still in shock. Her two best friends were _back_. _Ed_ was back. Back from a place only God knows where.

She stopped to gulp in some very welcomed breaths of air. There it was. Central Hospital. She could already see her two friends in her mind.

...They were both as good as _dead _when she got up there!

As she pounded up the hospital stairs (The elevator was broken.), she counted all the things she would kill the boys for.

**Hardly ever sending her a letter when they were looking for the Stone.**

She reached the 2nd floor.

**Never telling her **_**anything**_** about their travels, **_**despite**_** her being their best friend.**

She ran past room 197.

**Only stopping by **_**twice**_** during those 5 years.**

Room 198.

**Both leaving her worried even more when they were fugitives of the State.**

Room 199.

**Al the only one coming back to her after their journey.**

Room 200

**Ed disappearing for **_**2 years**_

Room 201.

**Al leaving her alone to train **_**during**_** those 2 years.**

Room 202 & 203.

**Ed coming back after 2 years, only to leave **_**again**_** with Al by his side. Leaving her alone.**

She rounded a corner. She could hear talking.

**Leaving her to wonder for **_**10 years**_**, dammit!!**

Room 204. She saw Roy and Riza standing in the next open door.

**Making her drop that plate back at home a few hours ago.**

Room 205.

**Making her**_** rush **_**to the train station, to endure **_**2 hours **_**of **_**sitting**_**, making her **_**run**_** all the **_**5 blocks **_**to the hospital, and making her run up **_**all those stairs**_

She stopped in the doorway. Ed caught her eyes with his.

**...Letting her heart get stolen by the eldest Elric brother.**

Al looked up as well.

Ed whispered, "Winry..."

She snapped.

"You...**YOU**, **STUPID**, **BASTARDS**!!!!!", she screeched.

Ed didn't have time to duck as Winry flung her wrench at his head. After effectively knocking him out, she stomped over to Al and promptly socked him in the face, sending him to the floor like his brother. Then came the explosion.

"**YOU IDIOTS!! YOU LEFT ME FOR 10 YEARS!!! I WONDERED IF YOU GUYS WERE OKAY EVERY GODDAMN DAY, DAMMIT!!! IT WAS BAD ENOUGH BACK THEN WHEN I HAD A SLIGHT IDEA WHERE YOU WERE, BUT THEN YOU GO AND LEAVE FOR GOD-KNOWS-WHERE WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME ANYT****H****I****N****G!**You stupid idiots! Y, you...stupid, _stupid_ _idiots_!", Winry then sunk down onto the cold tile, crying her eyes out.

Ed and Al had recovered from the beating Winry had gave them, and just sat on the floor, watching their best friend sob, neither of the brothers knowing what to do.

Tears kept pouring down her face...and Edward found he couldn't stand it. He slowly stood up, walked over to Winry, and knelt down in front of her. (AN: Winry can't see him do all this since her hands are covering her face.)

And Winry's waterlogged eyes shot open as she felt a mismatched pair of arms embrace her. Alphonse followed his brother and wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl as well.(AN: The Elrics just can't call her a woman. Same with Winry calling them men. Sounds a bit weird to them, ya know?)

Winry felt the warmth of her two friends, and her eyes started to overflow anew, her face nestling into Edward's metallic shoulder.

Riza and Roy watched the scene with parental eyes.

...Roy ruined the moment with a cough. Reminding everyone where they were, and that they had a _bit_ of an audience going outside in the halls.

Ed & Al slowly detatched themselves from Winry. They smiled at each other.

Then Winry noticed that a small girl was hiding behind the hospital bed, her golden eyes taking everything in.

Wait. Winry became rigid. _Golden_ eyes?

Ed saw her go stiff, & realized who she was staring at. He stiffened as well, not to mention he blushed a bit, and motioned his daughter over to them.

"Um...Winry?", Ed began, "T, this is um...my daughter, Trisha."

Trisha smiled and wiggled her fingers in a small wave.

Winry swore she heard her heart breaking in two.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: Heaven Regained:**_

Winry mentally shook her head, desperately trying to shake away the creeping depression she had started to feel. Edward had a _daughter_. He had moved on, gotten married,...he had found someone _else_ to fill that part of his life. Not her.

'_It's been __10 years__ Winry_', she thought to herself. '_Get over yourself. He never felt that way about you to begin with._'

After mentally beating her sadness into submission, she turned once again to her best friends, forcing a smile onto her tear-stained face.

"Winry, you okay?", Al asked.

"...Yeah. I'm fine just,...a little overwhelmed I guess.", she lied.

Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. Winry was lying...he could tell. But why would she...?

"Ahem. As much as I hate to break up this reunion, perhaps we all should go somewhere a bit more...comfortable?", Roy stated.

True, the hospital wasn't the best place to talk about personal matters. People had _already_ poked their heads out of their rooms after hearing Winry roar at the Elrics.

They all nodded at Roy's statement, & Winry stood up to fetch her wrench. After gathering the metal 'weapon', she turned towards the 2 boys.

"Roy's right. You guys can come back to Resembool with me. Edward...you probably need me to fix your automail anyway, right?"

Edward let a small smile onto his face. "Yeah. It got kinda banged up when we got here.", he said.

Alphonse turned to Roy & Riza. "Um, do you two want to come with us?", he asked.

Roy opened his mouth, but Riza swiftly intervened. "Thank you Alphonse, but unfortunately we're both extremely busy. _Right, sir_?", Riza turned her eagle-eye stare onto her husband. Roy paled as she did so.

"Riza's right Alphonse.", he said shakily, "And besides, uh, we don't want to get in the middle of this reunion." Roy looked to his wife, silently asking if that was what he was supposed to say. Riza's small smile told all.

Ed smirked at the Colonel's distress. "So you're still getting tons of paperwork pushed onto ya, huh? Heh. Serves you right you bastard."

Ed immediately found a golved hand in his face, poised to snap at any second. Sweat rolled down Ed's face.

"Well good to see you Roy, and you too Riza, now if ya don't mind we'llalljustbegoingnowhaveaniceday!", Ed squeaked, as he picked up his daughter with his left hand & grabbed Al & Winry with his right, & proceeded to rush them all out of the room.

As soon as the dust Ed had kicked up died down, Riza turned to her husband.

"Well Roy, if you get started on your paperwork _now_ you'll probably be finished by midnight if you hurry.", she smirked.

Roy sighed & moped the rest of the way to the office.

-------------------------------------------------------------

**(Two hours later at Resembool)**

Winry's heels plodded down the dirt road, Ed, Al, & Trisha a few feet ahead of her. Her depression had started to rise up again during the train ride, and now was back in full force. She titled her head up, staring at Ed's back, his daughter riding happily on his shoulders. She smiled. It had been so many years since she had seen the boys like this.

They were_ truly _happy.

Ed was playfully punching Al on the shoulder, laughing about something.

Al was chuckling along with his brother, now and again poking Ed's side in mock anger.

And Ed's daughter...was hanging onto her father's head with so much love and admiration, that Winry couldn't help but smile at the happy little girl.

Trisha truly loved her family...and Winry wondered if she loved her mother just as much. Or if Ed did too. She hadn't yet seen the woman, but Winry guessed she was waiting where Ed & Al had spent the last 10 years at.

Trisha turned her head to the lady behind them. She seemed nice, but had really hurt her ears when she first saw her.

'_She looks a lot like Mommy._', Trisha thought.

She had never met her Mommy before, but her Daddy always kept a picture of her in his little brown book he always carried. Her Daddy and Uncle Al told stories about her, how she was really scary when she was mad, but also how she was incredibly nice & caring. Uncle Al always told her that she had her Mommy's face & eyes, but looked almost exactly like her Daddy.

Trisha loved her father so much. He was really funny & nice, always having a story for her before bed. His stories would always have her attention. Stories about magic, monsters, and exciting battles. Her favorite story was when the FullMetal Alchemist saved the beautiful Princess from the evil Blood Knight. (AN: Ed makes his stories sound like fairytales, & the story Trisha likes is when Ed saved Winry from Barry the Chopper.)

Trisha looked again at the lady behind them. Daddy and Uncle Al seemed to really like her...so as long as they liked her, Trisha decided she liked the lady too. She smiled when the lady looked up at her, & waved a small hand at her.

Winry smiled. No matter how much she had wanted Ed & herself to get married & have a child, she couldn't help but love little Trisha like she was her own.

The group slowly approched Winry's house.

-------------------------------------------------------------

As the group walked into the yellow house, violet eyes silently glared down at them from a nearby tree.

He was back.

The cause of his very existence was back. Perfect timing. Despite him hating his new 'life', Pride valued his newfound speed & strength. He'd never had this much power at his disposal before...except the one time in lab 5 when he...no...when Elric stepped into the unrefined philosoper's stone years back.

But there was a snag in his plan for revenge.

He wouldn't be able to get near Edward. Since homunculi are weakened when they come anywhere near a speck of the person they once were. And despite Elric's lack of height, he was definately more than a _speck_.

Pride then eyed the little girl running in the yard with Alphonse.

...Pride smiled evilly. Yes. The girl. She was Elric's daughter. If he used her as a shield, Edward wouldn't _dare_ come near him. And it wouldn't be too hard of a task to capture her. She only seemed to be about 4 years old. Her 'strength' was a mere speck of _dust_ compared to the mighty wall of power _he_ possesed.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Yes.

This could definately work.

Now all he had to do...was wait.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9: Mirrored Faces:**_

"Tag! You're it Uncle Al!", Trisha shouted.

"Oh! Again!? Geez Trisha, I swear you're a little bullet! I hardly saw you move!", Al called back playfully.

Edward smiled as he looked at his family from Winry's balcony. This, he decided, had to be pure bliss. He was back home, he had his brother in the flesh again, he had his beautiful daughter with him...and he was near the girl he'd loved since he was 15.

...Of course he'd never openly admit that last part.

His head turned as he heard the balcony door open, Winry walking over to lean on the railing beside him. She smiled at the scene before them as well.

Winry broke the silence.

"So...who's the lucky woman?", she asked, and mentally cursed herself for being so damn blunt.

Ed stiffened, knowing who she was referring to.

"Uh...well, her name is..._was_...Wendy.", he replied.

Winry tilted her head in curiousity. "Was?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. She, she died right after Trisha was born."

Winry's eyes widened. One of her hands covered her mouth in shock. "Ed...I...I'm _so sorry_! I didn't realize...!"

Ed simply waved a hand in dismissal. "It's okay. It's not like you _could've_ known anyway. It was pretty much out of the question to try & send you a letter from another dimension.", he grinned humorlessly. "What happened to Wendy...when I think about it...it's almost like it was a screwed up version of equivilant exchange. I gained something special but lost something equally precious to me. My wife for my daughter. Heh...I guess I'm cursed in _any_ world.", he said bitterly.

Winry had tears in her eyes. She looked out into the yard once more.

Trisha had somehow managed to pin down Alphonse. Both were laughing their heads off.

She smiled sadly. "Ya know Ed...I think Wendy would've been proud of you. From what I've seen, you've raised Trisha extremely well."

Ed turned to her in mild surprise, a pained expression adorning his face afterwards.

"No she wouldn't. If you knew what I did that first year...", he replied sadly.

Winry's eyes hardened.

"But your not going to tell me what you did, are you? You'll just keep it a secret, just like all those years back.", she said bitterly.

Ed said nothing.

"Ed listen. No matter what you did, you can't change it. It's in the past, & from what I can tell, Trisha loves you just as much as you and Al loved your mother. All you can do now is move forward & hope she grows up into a loving mother herself one day."

Winry stopped & looked at Edward, his golden eyes staring at her with admiration, denial...& fear. Fear of what would happen if he did something wrong. Winry swallowed, & gently wrapped her arms around the golden-eyed Elric brother. Ed grew stiff in shock.

"And when Trisha becomes a mother, and gives her children all the love they'll ever need...she'll have _you_ to thank for that. For giving her such love and devotion that your own mother had given to you.", she finished with a whisper.

She pulled back, looking at the stunned (And oddly red) face of Edward Elric.

And he smiled.

"...Thanks Winry.", he said softly. "Um, so. Anybody else in _your_ life that I should know about?"

Winry frowned. "His name's Michael. We got divorced a few months ago. We never had kids, & I really prefer not to think about him.", she said icily.

Ed pulled back, nervous she might pummel him for bringing up the subject. "Eh, sorry. Uh, um...so, uh...what's for dinner?"

-------------------------------------------------------------

**(Several hours later)**

It was exactly 12:30 am.

A full moon was out, along with millions of glittering stars.

Al & Ed slept soundly in the guest room, Ed's tank top pulled up a bit to expose his muscled stomach, while Al slept peacfully on his side.

Winry slept in her own room, her beloved wrench clasped tightly in her hand.

Trisha slept in a smaller guest room, unaware of the shadowed figure that lurked outside her window.

..._**"DAAAADDYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

The scream was loud enough to immediately awaken everyone in the house.

Ed and Al rushed to the room down the hall calling out Trisha's name, Winry running as fast as she could behind them.

Trisha's door smashed open.

The three friends stopped dead in their tracks, frozen with shock.

Trisha's bed was empty.

Her window was open.

And on the window sill, a shadowed figure tightly gripped the little girl, the glinting blade of a scythe against her neck.

But that wasn't the thing that scared them the most.

Oh no.

It was the fact that the creature holding Trisha...was a duplicate of Edward himself.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Memories of the Damned:**_

Horrified golden eyes reflected evil, vengeful violet irises.

Edward couldn't move. His legs seemed frozen solid. How could this be? There was a homunculus copy of himself...!

Words of the Gatelings floated through his memory.

_'In the alchemy world...one of us is...trapped inside...of dead Golden boy.'_

Wow. It would really mess with his psyche when he killed that monster. Killing something with your own face could have that effect.

But nevermind all that crap now, that thing had Trisha!

Ed put one foot forward...the blade pressed harder on Trisha's neck.

"I wouldn't try anything Edward. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your little girl now, would you?", Pride stated.

Ed's nerve started to rise up.

"W..what do you want?", he asked.

"Your _death_, Edward. My whole existence is because of _you_! Tucker tried to bring_ you _back, so he could make _me_ bring back Nina. And what would've happened afterwards if I had? I'll tell you...nothing. I would have no reason to live anymore. I don't now, but at least I'll have the satisfaction of killing the one who ruined my so-called 'life'!! And we both know mine isn't the _only_ life you've ruined!", Pride shouted.

Edward tensed at Pride's words.

"_You_ were the one who made the decision to bring back your mom, and never even listened to Alphonse even once! _You_ were so into wanting to see a talking chimera, that Tucker made Nina into that thing! Hughes died because he wanted to help _you_ in _your_ business! Dr.Marcoh got eaten by Gluttony because _you_ forced him out of hiding!"

Ed's eyes started to fill with grief & self-loathing at Pride's every sentance.

"I...I...!"

"And what about the other world's Edward? It's _your_ fault he got killed since _you_ were in his body! And Alfons Heidrich! He gave his life to help _you_ get home! Also Edward, think about the one person who's life you've ruined the most. Al. You put him in a suit of armor for_ 4 goddamn years_. A metal prison that couldn't _feel_, _sleep_, _eat_, or even _dream_! Al didn't _deserve_ to have his body taken away. _You_ should've been taken instead.", Pride finished.

Ed stood rooted to the ground.

"You've escaped death too many times Edward. I'm here to put a stop to it. You're not immortal. You should have died a _long_ time ago."

The air seemed to tighten as alchemical energy fizzed around Pride, his red tattoos glowing a bright blue. (A/N: Pride can also use alchemy thanks to the Gateling inside him.) Alphonse clapped his hands, about to slam them onto the ground, when the wooden floorboards rose up, curling around his wrists, keeping them from touching anything. Pride had seemingly alchemized the entire room to do his bidding. Trisha's bedsheet flew off of the mattress, & wrapped around Winry, making her lose her balance & fall to the ground.

All this seemed to happen in seconds, as Edward watched in horror. As he started to move towards his brother & Winry, the floorboards wrapped around his ankles, exposed nails digging into his skin. Ed gasped in pain, & turned to face Pride. He was still on the windowsill, eyeing the chaos with vicious delight, while Trisha watched in horror.

Trisha's eyes started to water as she saw her father in pain. She looked up at her captor, and her anger started to rise. How _dare_ he hurt him! Her cheeks became red with fury, and she wriggled her head out of Pride's tight grasp, and immediately bit down hard on his arm, drawing a bit of blood.

Pride winced in pain, grabbing Trisha by her arm, making her face him. Anger at her impudence lit his violet eyes...until he saw tears in her own, because of the pain he was inflicting on her and her family.

His eyes softened as he looked into her golden irises.

...and he was hit with 10 years worth of Ed's memories from the other world.

And_ that_...can give someone a major headache.

Pride screamed as his mind felt like it was being crushed, unconciously letting go of Trisha, retracting his scythe into his body, and deactivating the alchemized room. Trisha immediately ran to her father, Ed hugging her to his chest protectively. Al cradled his bloody wrists, and the bedsheet simply fell off of Winry.

Edward turned to Pride, who was currently gasping in pain.

Edward clapped his hands, set them onto his metal arm, and formed it into a machine gun with a crackle of blue energy. Pride took this moment to turn back to Ed.

Ed glared, livid. "_You_..._**BASTARD**_.", he ground out. The machine gun fired a round of bullets, effectively blasting off Pride's right arm.

Pride screamed in pain, before grasping the bloody stump of his shoulder and bailing out the window. Using his superior speed, he ran down the road until he was out of sight, leaving a trail of blood on the dirt.

Ed grasped the windowsill in fury, his now normal automail hand crushing a bit of the wood.

Al, Winry & Trisha watched as Ed's shoulders slumped. He then walked to his daughter, knelt down, and hugged her.

Ed's left hand felt the slight mark of where the blade had been on her neck.

He shuddered...and soon started to cry.

Trisha put her small arms around her father's neck, while Al & Winry gently placed their hands on his shoulders, hoping to comfort Edward as well.

It was exactly 1:00 am.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Unbreakable Bonds:**_

The dawn came, but brought no comfort to the occupants of the Rockbell home, the terrifying events from last night still haunting them. Most of which, was Edward Elric.

Ed quietly sat on the house's front porch, head in his hands. He quietly mulled over the events that had happened over the last few days, his mind working tirelessly to form a solution to the mission he had been given.

...What he wouldn't give to just throw away that same mission this very moment.

So deep in his brooding, Ed didn't notice the front door opening, allowing a blonde-haired mechanic outside. In fact, he didn't even realize he wasn't alone until she sat down beside him, an unreadable look on her face.

"Edward?"

Ed didn't face her.

"Why did you really come back? You two never told me earlier.", Winry stated.

Silence.

"...Are you just going to keep it a secret? Like before?", she asked.

Ed slowly unveiled his face from his palms.

"...We came here to destroy that homunculus. That thing was right. His whole existence is because of me. If I let him go around killing people, their deaths will be virtually my fault. It's my responsibility to kill him.", Ed answered.

Winry frowned, her eyes narrowing.

"So you guys'll just leave after you've killed it. It that right?", she asked bitterly.

Ed sighed. "Winry...that's how we are, Al & I. We don't care if we're in this world or another, as long as you and everyone else _here_ are safe...!"

"WELL WHAT ABOUT _ME_!? _I_ CARE IF YOU'RE IN THIS WORLD OR NOT!!", she screamed.

They stared at each other, tears gathering in Winry's eyes.

"_I_ care. You guys are my best friends! I lost you guys for _16 years _of my life, but I _still care_. I've always waited for you two to come home, but everytime..._everytime_ you just _leave_ me again! Why can't you guys just stay_ here _after you've killed that thing!?...Why?", Winry choked out.

Edward stood up, his face turned to the ground.

"Because Winry, it was part of the deal I made before we got sent here, and if someone tries to break through to this side of the Gate, Al & I will be there to stop them before you get hurt.", he explained.

Ed then faced his best friend. "Winry. I don't..._we_ don't want you to wait anymore. There's always going to be a time where we leave, & this time might actually be the_ last_. You need to move on & forget about us...everyone would be better off anyway if they all did just that. Our job is to protect you and eveyone else in this world, and it hurts us just as much as it does you when we have to leave. This is and always _will be _our home, Winry. And _you'll_ always be our best friend. Please try to understand why we do this."

Ed fell silent, sighed, & began to climb up the porch steps.

"Wait."

Ed stopped with his hand on the doorframe.

"When are you going after that thing?", Winry questioned.

"...Tomorrow.", he regretfully replied.

Winry still sat on the porch, facing the horizon. "...I'm coming with.", she said.

"What!? Winry, didn't you hear a word I just said!? Al & I don't want you to get hurt...!", Ed argued.

"I know you don't. But you guys aren't the bosses of me or my life. I'm a grown woman Edward, if I wanna go with you guys, I'll go.", she said with determination.

Winry then marched up the stairs until she was a foot from Ed, her eyes hard & a determined smile on her face.

"And besides, if you guys try to stop me you'll _both_ get a wrench in the head.", she threatened. Then, smiling as if nothing happened, she calmly walked past her shocked friend into the house.

Ed stood rooted to the spot, still staring after Winry. Then, defeated, he slumped against the doorframe.

...He sighed, grinning at the same time.

"I'll never get rid of her, will I?", he asked himself quietly.

Straightening himself up, he trudged into the house to find Al, to concoct their plan to bring down Pride.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, about 3 miles out of Resembool, Pride sat on top of a nearby boulder, clutching his right arm as if it were still just a bloody stump.

Tears ran down his face.

Tears of pain, sorrow, shame, and anger. He clawed them fervently away from his stressed face.

_'Damn him!'_, he thought violently._'Damn that bastard! Damn him & his goddamned daughter!'_

Tears still fell. Why the hell had his memories decided to butt in back there!? When he was so close to getting his revenge!?

Those memories hurt. And yet they were pleasent, comforting, at the same time.

_Trisha was smiling up at him. Her eyes so full of love that he didn't deserve._

_Wendy gripping his hand with the last of her strength as she died._

_That horrible first year Trisha had been alive._

_He & Al playing various games with Trisha, always trying to make sure she was never sad or lonely._

Pride shook his head & tried to focus once more on his enemy.

Well...his first plan was out the window. He wouldn't be able to get near Trisha now without feeling a train's worth of guilt hit him.

Pride's mind started to work...his chin resting casually on his fists.

...He gave up, sliding off the boulder & onto the dirt road. This was getting him nowhere fast.

"The only way I'd be able to equal Elric is in hand to hand combat.", he said quietly. "But I'd be weakened in seconds. Not to mention _dead_ if that happened." He mulled over this some more, eventually coming to a satisfying conclusion.

"I'll have to kill him with alchemy. If I attack him from a distance then I won't have to worry about becoming weakened around him.", he decided this plan would do nicely, since he didn't seem to have many other options anyway.

He sighed, & started walking down the road.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Unending Chaos:**_

Al sat on his bed, silently watching his brother pace the room...fighting back the urge to get dizzy while doing so. He groaned finally, putting his hands to his head.

"Brother, would you just sit _down_ already? You're starting to give me a headache."

Ed stopped, flashing an apologetic smile at Al.

"Eh, sorry 'bout that. But can you really blame me? This whole situation has got me wound up.", Ed said.

Al's eyes narrowed, glancing down at his bandaged wrists & his brother's ankle. (AN: Remember, the exposed-nail floor boards grabbed them.) He sighed. "No. I can't. We've got figure out some kind of strategy first to take down that homunculus."

Ed nodded in agreement.

A few minutes passed in silence, when suddenly an idea struck Al.

"Brother, didn't you make an array to kill Sloth those years back?", he asked.

Ed looked to his brother. "Yeah, I did. It's the same one that Dante used to weaken Greed. But it's not gonna be that easy Al. He knew all about Nina, Mom, Hughes...everyone. Even the alternate me and you. I'm pretty sure he'll know we'll try to use that circle.", he explained.

Al's hopeful look vanished, & he slumped back onto his bed. Ed did the same, giving his legs a rest.

"Brother", Al questioned," If we _do_ defeat that homunculus...what'll we do about Winry? And everyone else? I don't know if I'll be able to say goodbye again."

Ed tensed. "...Al. They're safer without us here screwing up their lives. And we made a deal with the Gate, remember? We _have_ to go back."

Al looked to the floor, resignation in his eyes.

-------------------------------------------------------------

**(In the Living Room)**

Trisha watched in awe as Winry screwed in the final bolt. The blonde mechanic then looked at Trisha with happy eyes.

"Alright, here it goes." Winry then flipped a small switch on the invention.

The gears started to whirr & grind, batteries charging up for the device's debute...

...and a chiming melody started floating from the small music box. Trisha giggled happily as Winry placed the toy in her hands.

"Thanks, Auntie Win! It's so pretty!", she said happily.

Winry smiled a bit at being called 'Auntie'. Yet it did make her a bit nostalgic, considering her mother was always called 'Aunt' or 'Auntie' by Ed & Al.

"Glad you like it Trisha. Promise to think of me when you play it, alright?", she asked.

Trisha looked curiously at Winry. "Okay, but why? Daddy, Uncle Al, & I will still visit you, right?", she questioned.

Winry winced inwardly at the innocent question. "No, I don't think you'll be seeing me again. Your daddy and uncle and you have to go back to your home soon."

Trisha frowned a bit in confusion. "But...but why can't we visit you? We have a car. We've visited Uncle and Auntie Hughes tons 'o times."

Winry frowned. "Your home...and here are...too far apart for you guys to visit. I'm sorry Trisha.", she said sadly.

The little girl lowered her head in sadness, gripping the music box tighter. Tears formed in her golden eyes.

"I...I don't wanna go. I know Daddy & Uncle Al don't wanna either. I really like you Auntie Win...I..._sniff_...I don't wanna go!", she cried.

Winry almost started to tear up herself. It was just so sad. A sobbing little girl was in front of her. This had happened before when she was younger, when she, Al & Ed had visited Miss Izumi. A little girl named Manny had just lost her cat Chico, who not a few hours ago had given birth to a litter of kittens. Winry let her instincts take over.

Trisha felt Winry's arms go around her, her hand gently stroking her head in reassurance. Trisha soaked up the warmth & kindness in the embrace.

"Trisha...I'll really miss you and the guys, but I'll always remember you. Just like I said, when you play the music box, I want you to think of me. But I really don't want you to be sad. Okay?", she spoke soothingly.

Trisha sniffled one last time before Winry pulled away. The 4-year old rubbed her eyes, wiping away remaining tears, & let a small smile cross her face.

"I...I think Daddy'll miss you more. I think he likes you Auntie Win.", she giggled.

Winry felt a light blush grace her cheeks. "I...I don't think he...!"

"Hey Winry, Brother told me to tell you to bring a toolbox in case he smashes his automail sometime tomorrow." , Al called to her.

Ed popped his head out of the room. "AL, I _DID NOT_!! I can take care of this thing just fine!", he called out angrily.

Winry & Trisha watched the antics of the two brothers, smiles on their faces.

-------------------------------------------------------------

**(Two Hours Later; Central City)**

Winry cracked her spine, sore from the long train ride. God knows how Ed & Al had pulled off sleeping in those trains those years ago. Trisha softly grabbed Winry's hand, smiling up at her new friend. The happy feeling didn't last long.

"Winry! Trisha! Get over here, now!!", they heard Ed cry.

Winry hoisted Trisha into her arms, intent on seeing what had distressed Edward.

...The sight was devestating.

Hundreds of buildings littered the cracked ground. Smoke rose from broken gaslines, & water ran from busted pipes.

Al broke the silence in a horrified whisper. "Wha...What happened? Brother, do you think...?"

Ed nodded curtly, horror still evident in his eyes. "It's gotta be him. Al! We've gotta go to Headquarters...if it's still even there!"

After running a few blocks, they came upon the half-ruined Central Military Headquarters.

Al cupped his hands to his mouth, "GENERAL MUSTANG! COLONEL RIZA! ANYBODY!?"

They waited about 5 minutes before they spotted a figure in blue. The soldier jogged up to them, saluted, then motioned them to follow him.

He led them to a pair of metal doors that were built into what was left of the floor in the crumbling building. He knocked 5 times, & the doors opened.

There was a long, down-spiraling staircase inside. Once the metal doors closed & everyone was inside, the soldier began to relay the news of Central to them.

"The General told me you guys might be coming. Sometime yesterday, a young boy with a scythe started blowing up everything in his path. He was using some kinda alchemy, I'm not sure. Strangely, he didn't kill one person as far as we know. General Mustang said we wouldn't be able to kill him, so he got the President to order everyone in Central to go into the underground city.", he explained.

(A/N: The 'President' deal, remember parliment took over at the end of Ep 51. They have a political system just like ours now.)

They soon reached said underground city, it's streets now strewn with citizens & military officers. Ed sighed in relief, knowing that his double hadn't killed anyone else.

The soldier soon led them to a very official-looking building, probably where the ancient city's council use to meet. When they entered, they saw Roy, Riza & their subordinates; thankfully still consisting of Havoc, Fuery, Breda, & Falman. Riza noticed the group walk in, & whispered in her husband's ear. Roy looked up from a map they'd been studying, meeting Ed's eyes.

Roy walked over & dismissed the soldier that had led them down.

Roy nodded to the group in greeting. "FullMetal. Alphonse. Miss Rockbell...Trisha." The girl smiled at the acknowledgement. "Good to see you're all still alive."

Ed nodded in return. "Unfortunately I'd have to say the same for you.", he smirked.

-------------------------------------------------------------

After Roy explained their situation in a more detailed fashion, the group satrted to plan on how to get on the offensive.

Ed rubbed his chin in thought. "If I could just get near the homunculus, then we'd all have a good chance of winning since he'd be weakened. But he's probably figured that out too. Him having my memories is gonna make fighting this thing even harder than fighting a regular homunculus..."

Ed was interupted by screaming outside the building. Roy turned to Sergant Bloch, who'd just run inside.

"Sergant, what's going on out there!?", he questioned.

Denny huffed a bit as he spoke. A dead giveaway that he had run a few blocks.

"It the homunculus, sir! He's down here, heading for this building!", he said, panic-stricken.

The front doors blasted inward, showering debris around the room. The blade of a scythe glinted through the dust.

"Knock-knock." The voice that had spoken was well known by now.

The dust lifted, revealing the blonde head & violet eyes of Pride, his scythe in hand.

"So Edward...how about a little rematch to make up for last time?"


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: 'Till Death Do Us Part:**_

The room was devoid of sound, all eyes turned to the Elric look-alike. Edward stepped forward, glancing back only once to look at his friends and family.

The silence shattered to pieces at his words.

"Leave them out of this.", Ed stated.

It wasn't a question, not a plea...but an order. Al drew in a breath in shock, stepping towards his brother.

"Brother, I won't let you fight him by yourself!", he exclaimed, horrified Ed would even _think_ of fighting by himself!

Pride eyed his double's brother. His eyes softened for a slight second, quickly reverting back to it's icy violet glare. His eyes never leaving Edward, he spoke to Al.

"You stay out of this Alphonse. My fight isn't with you. I only want to kill this blight that has been around for _too_ long.", he said, pointing his scythe towards Ed's defiant figure.

Al fumed at the arrogance of the monster. "Don't _you_ tell _me_ what to do! Since you obviously have Ed's memories, then you should know I'd rather_ die _than let my brother fight alone!", he yelled.

Pride's grip on his scythe loosened a bit, before he let out a pained sigh.

"Be that as it may, I don't want to see you, any of you, get hurt. My fight is with Edward, & Edward alone. But I won't hesitate to kill every one of you if I'm provoked to do so.", Pride stated calmly. Al's jaw slightly sagged at the homunculus's words.

Ed decided to intervene. "Unfortunately I'll have to agree with him, Al. If I die, then Trisha will still have you. I don't care what happens to me...as long as I can protect you guys!", Ed then immediately clapped his hands, slamming them to the floor. A alchemic surge of power ran through the tiles, a gigantic fist nailing Pride in the stomach. The force of the impact sent Pride crashing through the celing, into the open air of the cavern.

Pride grit his teeth at the pain of his ruptured organs and broken ribs, but recovered quickly as said organs & ribs reknit themselves in a matter of seconds. From the air, he saw Edward race out of the building, clap his hands, & immediately send a flying volley of giant spikes at him. Pride smiled viciously, & swung out a wave of alchemic energy from the blade of his scythe. The wave was sent into the spikes, demolishing most of them in midair. Unfortunately for Pride, a few managed to slip by, forcing Pride to lose a few good chunks of his body.

Pride felt his energy drain as his mangled body slammed onto the ground, creating a small crater. Pride was dead. Blood slowly pooled around him from the immense holes in his body. A dulled violet eye looked on into nothingness...then snapped back to the figure of Edward Elric, who stood cautiously at the edge of the crater.

Pride grinned a toothy smile, & pushed himself upright, his body creating new flesh for the wounds as his did so. Ed wasn't surprised in the least. It would take nothing short of 5 uranium bombs to take down one of these monsters, and Ed didn't plan on blowing everyone here to dust doing something like that. Ed gulped, & started to walk down into the crater.

Pride's eyes widened in horror. He glanced at his half-destroyed body, & felt his regeneration slow as Ed neared. This was bad. Pride's breaths started coming out more labored, sharp pains starting to prick his body. He had to get away from Elric, _now_!! Or else he'd be too weak to even move!

Pride sent out a small wave of energy, lifting up the road with Ed on it, determined to get him away. Pride sighed in relief as his body regained it's form. He stood, retrieving his scythe from the crater's edge. Ed looked from the pillar he was on. He clapped & placed his hands on the pillar, the stone starting to move as if alive. Ed was almost _thankful_ Dante had used this trick to try & kill him years ago.

The pillar rushed at Pride, the homunculus dodging easily, yet the pillar & Ed still followed. Pride swore, & started to run through the slowly emptying city streets, people running out of the cavern in fear of their lives.

Pride noticed that Mustang and Al were getting ready to attack him. He thought fast, sending out yet another wave of energy, & summoned an alchemic shield to form around the group of soldiers & Al, effectively shutting them out of the fight.

The homunculus decided he had had enough of this, & stopped dead in his tracks, Ed & the pillar rushing past him. Ed looked back at Pride, & jumped off the pillar.

As he landed, he saw Pride throw a huge blast of energy at him.

Ed stood frozen.

...It was too huge to avoid.

-------------------------------------------------------------

**(2 Minutes Before)**

Winry hid under the cover of a slab of concrete, which had wedged itself somehow to make a kind of tent. _Damn_ that Ed. He was so _stupid_! Though she didn't know _everything_ about homunculi, she _did_ know that they were practically _immortal_.

The realization hit her full force.

...Ed would be killed. And she wouldn't be able to stop it. Her eyes began to tear up.

Suddenly, she saw a long length of stone rush past her at a tremendous speed. She crawled out from her hiding place, just in time to see Pride throw a wave of alchemic energy at Edward, who happened to be only 5 feet from her.

Thoughts ran through her head at warp-speed.

Blast. Ed in the way. Blast too big. Unavoidable. Ed would die.

She darted off the ground, running to Ed faster than she had ever run before in her life.

Ed would die.

_**'NOT IF **__**I**__** HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!!!'**_,she mentally screamed.

It happened in a space of 10 seconds.

1...Winry got to Ed's side.

2...She grabbed his arm.

3...She swung him as hard as she could.

4...He flew away from her.

5...He landed in a pile of rubble.

6...The blast kept coming.

7...She stood frozen.

8...She smiled.

9...The blast hit Winry.

10...She smashed into a wall 50 feet behind her.

The dust settled silently.

Everyone had seen what had happened.

They stared, horror & disbelief etched in all of their faces.

Winry fell out of the wall, an imprint left behind in her wake. Her broken figure hit the ground. Blood dripped down her head & onto the cobblestone road.

She wasn't moving.

The realization hit Ed and Al first.

**"****WINRY!!!!!!!!!**** "**, they screamed.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: Unending Devotion:**_

Ed & Al's scream echoed off the cavern walls, the only sound heard in the underground city.

Nobody noticed the alchemic barrier fall around the soldiers' feet.

Edward & Alphonse stared at the broken figure of Winry, their best friend. Subconciously praying she would get up with just a broken bone or two. Ed was the first to regain his senses, & started slowly walking toward her.

When he reached her, he knelt down beside her, & gently rolled her onto her back. She was still warm to the touch, but it was slowly starting to fade, to Ed's growing horror. He then placed his left hand to her wrist...and felt nothing. No steady beat of anything resembling a pulse. He then took notice of how her neck was letting her head lean at what would be a rather uncomfortable angle.

The blast of energy combined with her smashing into a wall had done it's work. Her neck had been snapped.

Ed leaned away from Winry's body, his mind and body frozen with shock & horror.

He didn't feel the tears running down his face.

He didn't feel the cold of the city biting his skin.

And he didn't feel his heart breaking.

He felt nothing.

...It gave him no comfort to realize that this was how his brother had felt in the armor when they were kids.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Pride's mind replayed what had just taken place, his scythe falling out of his limp grasp.

This...this wasn't suppossed to happen! He was just suppossed to kill _Edward_ & that would be it!

...Winry wasn't suppossed to _die_. This _wasn't_ _**supposed**_ to _**happen**_!!

A tear fell from the homunculus...and his eyes drained of violet, leaving gold in it's wake.

More tears started to fall.

As he cried, Pride slowly looked at his hands. A murderer's hands. He had caused so much destruction, and now he had killed one of the most dearest people he had in his memory.

"What've I _done_? I'm just like _them_.", he said to himself. He started to sob, his fists covering his eyes in anguish.

(A/N: By 'them', Pride means the other homunculi.)

_'But...'_, he thought suddenly,_'I'm __**not**__ like them.'_

He had _alchemy_. He had _memories_.

His golden eyes resurfaced from his hands at his next thought.

He could _fix_ this!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Edward hadn't moved from Winry's body since the horrible realization that had hit him. Alphonse, Trisha, Riza, & Roy didn't need to go over to Ed to realize it too.

Tears kept falling onto Winry's chillingly peaceful face, only adding to the growing cold of her skin.

So deep in his grief & shock, Edward didn't notice Pride walk up to him. Al saw this, & higher brain functions started working again. But before he could step away from the soldiers, the barrier that had fallen in Pride's weakness, had once again risen. Cutting off Al's path to his brother.

At last, Edward saw who was now kneeling next to him. His eyes went wide for a split second, before Pride held up a hand as an order to keep quiet.

"...We still have time. Her skin still has a bit of warmth in it, so her soul hasn't totally dissolved into the Gate yet.", Pride stated.

Ed's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wait, wha...!", he was interrupted when Pride started to draw a small array in the stone ground with his scythe. Ed's eyes scanned the carefully drawn circles & the emblem he knew so well. Pride had drawn a miniature version of Dante's array designed to weaken a homunculus.

Pride inhaled, & softly placed his hands on the circle, a blue light radiating from the etching.

Pride felt the red stones in his body rush through his throat, forcing their way out of his mouth. The red gems spilled in large quantities onto the circle, but before they had a chance to dissolve into nothing, Pride clapped & grouped as many as he could in his hands.

Pride's closed fists started to glow a brilliant crimson, & Edward saw, for a split second, that Pride's eyes had grown somewhat dull.

When the homunculus opened his hands...a small red stone hovering about an inch off his palms. Pride let loose a small grin, sweat rolling down his face as he panted due to his effort.

"I...I combined all the power of the red stones I had...into one. And...to give it life...I put a portion of my soul into the stone as well.", he explained softly.

"But...", Edward interrupted,"Homunculi don't have souls. How could you...?"

"The other homunculi before me...had no souls because...they had no memories. Not until the very end.", Pride replied.

Ed narrowed his eyes in confusion, before Pride began to explain. "Think about it. Al had memories when he was nothing but a soul in armor. Now...how can someone have memories if...they don't have a brain to...to store them in? The soul...obviously is the thing that holds...a person's memories."

He then held the small stone out to Edward. "Here. Using the red stones...and some of my soul...I made a small prototype of the Philosoper's Stone. Bring...bring her back with it. Before she's completely gone.", he told Ed.

Edward nodded, but still had one more question. "_Why_? Why are you helping her?", he asked.

Pride's eyes widened for a second, then his face sunk into a sad smile. "Because I have _your_ memories of her, Edward. So...with those memories...it's enough to make _me_ want to protect & love her as well.", he said. "Now please..._destroy_ me."

Ed stiffened a bit...but nodded in agreement. His assignment was close to an end. Edward Elric then clapped his hands, & set them on Pride's chest.

Pride glowed a brilliant blue...& vanished. The Gate having pulled him into it's dark recesses.

-------------------------------------------------------------

After Pride's deconstruction, Edward slowly pressed the stone onto Winry's broken neck. Soon, the stone slowly sunk into her flesh, emitting a light, crimson glow.

...Minutes passed, & everyone stood tense. Waiting for some kind of reaction. Ed took it upon himself, to press his ear to her chest, hoping to hear her heart beat to life.

..._Ba-bump._

Edward's eyes shot open. He pressed his ear to her chest once more.

_'Please.'_, he begged silently._'Please let her be...!'_

..._Ba-bump._

A second one! Ed lifted his head, staring intently on the face of Winry Rockbell.

..."_Mmm_.", a groan sounded. Everyone gathered around the girl at the sound.

(AN: The barrier's gone now since Pride's dead.)

...Winry's eyes fluttered open.

Ocean blue eyes met bright gold.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15: No More Waiting:**_

Everyone stood speechless for what seemed like forever. Until Winry was starting to get creeped out by the silence.

"Um, guys? You feeling okay?", she asked.

Al was the first to be overcome by his growing joy. "WINRY!!!", he cried. Al then took it upon himself to launch himself at Winry, hugging her until Winry thought her ribs would crack.

"_**Oof! **_Al, could you lighten up on the hugging? My neck's kinda sore.", she gasped out. Al immediately released her, grinning sheepishly. The cheers of their soldier friends soon drowned out anything else.

Winry stayed silent, still baffled at what everyone was so happy about...but that gave way to new confusion as she saw tears streaming down Edward's face. Something was _obviously_ wrong if Ed was crying in front of Roy & his subordinates.

Winry slowly eased herself off the ground, & scooted closer to Ed. She then placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively snapping him out of whatever daze he had been in. If possible, more tears fell as he met Winry's face.

Winry was genuinely concerned now, & placed both her hands on the sides of his face, gently wiping away the alchemist's tears with her thumbs. "Ed? Ed, what's wro...!", she was quickly interrupted by Ed's mouth on her own. Safe to say, that got _every_one to shut up pretty quick. Ed swore he heard Mustang make an 'It's about time' comment, yet it didn't really irritate him enough to make him want to stop kissing Winry _just_ yet.

Unfortunately, oxygen is vital to the human lungs, so Ed & Winry eventually had to pull apart. Imediately, Ed flushed a nice shade of red, & turned away slightly out of embarassment. Winry giggled at his behavior.

...The happiness didn't last long.

In a flash of light, the stone doors of the Gate appeared for all to behold in awe. Ed & Al then remembered why they had been sent home in the first place. Al's joyful face fell, as he picked up his niece and started walking towards the looming doors.

Ed's face fell also, but as he started to get up, he felt a tug on his arm. He looked down to see Winry, her face filled with understanding and denial. She knew what would happen next. They would leave, & she would be left alone to wait once more.

Ed once again, felt his heart being torn in two...but he knew he would have to leave. Even if it meant leaving Winry for good. Trisha would be the price if he didn't. Winry still grasped at his arm, hope still desperately clinging at his hesitation.

It died, however, when Ed set his dulled eyes on hers. "No...Ed, you...you can't leave!", she said desperately.

Her plea fell on deaf ears. "I...I love you Winry. But...I told you before that we can't stay.", he answered as he pulled away from her faltering grip.

Winry's eyes watered. No, this...it wasn't supposed to happen this way! The love of her life was walking out on her again! It wasn't right...!

"**ED, YOU IDIOT!! YOU CAN'T JUST SAY YOU LOVE ME AND LEAVE AGAIN!!** _Sniff_ We're, we're supposed to get married and have kids and grow old together!! You _idiot_! It's...it's not fair!!", she screeched.

Then, she started to cry. All of the worry and anguish and love she felt during the brother's years of traveling that had built up, she now released in her heart-wrenching sobs. Hoping Ed & Al would stop & stay with her. Hoping Ed would turn around. Just once more.

...Edward had stopped at the sound of her sobs, his already broken heart tearing itself into even tinier peices. He knew this would hurt her, but it would be better if she hated him. If she did, she wouldn't miss him, & she would eventually move on & find a man she _deserved_.

The blonde alchemist turned, one last time, to look at all the people who had helped him & his brother on their journey. The people who had given it their all to, in their own way, protect him & Al in any way they could. His..._their_ family.

He smiled...and waved his right hand in farewell.

Roy, Riza, and the rest of the soldiers then raised their own right hands, & sharply saluted. Giving their own farewell to the FullMetal Alchemist, or just the two boys that had given some of them new outlooks on life and loved ones.

Ed saw this...and a final tear rolled down his face as he entered the open doors of the Gate, darkness swallowing him, his brother, and daughter one final time.

Winry had stopped crying when Ed had walked his final steps into the Gate.

That was it. He just left her again. Both of them.

Anger rose in Winry in mere seconds, forcing a furious scream to tear out of her throat.

"**YOU **_**IDIOTS**_**!!! I'M **_**NOT**_** GONNA BE LEFT BEHIND **_**AGAIN**_", she screeched.

Winry then pushed herself off the ground, sprinting towards the closing Gate and promptly threw herself into the darkness after her two best friends. Knowing full well, that she could end up with half her body gone if she follwed the Elrics.

...Then, as Winry flowed through the darkness...she decided it would be _worth_ it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Gate dissapeared in the blink of an eye. General Roy Mustang then turned to his wife.

"Riza."

She stood to attention. "Uh, yes sir?", she asked.

The Flame Alchemist then smiled sadly. "I want you to take Havoc, Breda, & Feury to Resembool. Go to the Rockbell home and gather all of Miss Rockbell's belongings."

Riza's face scrunched in confusion. "Sir?"

Roy closed his eyes. "They are to be put in safe keeping, along with Edward and Alphonse's belongings. I...I'm pretty sure the three of them won't be needing them anymore."

Riza smiled sadly. "I understand, sir. I'll get right on it."


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16: Legacy:**_

The Elric kitchen stood empty. The silence that it held had been occupying the home for a few days now.

...A portal then popped into existence, filling the kitchen, once more, with a blinding light. The giant, marble doors then deposited 3 people onto the wooden floor. The Elrics had returned to their house in the London countryside.

Alphonse sat up with a groan, rubbing his slightly sore head. Trisha did the same, while her father muttered a few colorful curses as he rubbed his own golden head.

As their headaches subsided, Alphonse looked longingly back at the Gate...And his face fell into sadness.

"This is...the last time we'll see the Gate. Isn't it, Brother." It wasn't a question.

Ed stiffened, clenching his eyes shut. Forcing his tears to stay off his face...He failed. Tears started to flow.

"Yeah, Al. It is.", Ed replied as he stood. He then felt a tiny pressure on his pant leg. He looked down at his daughter.

Trisha looked nervous, & pointed a tiny finger at the Gate.

"Daddy...why isn't it going away like it did before?", she questioned.

Ed & Al's eyes widened in realization. She was right. The Gate wasn't winking out of existence like it should.

...Something was wrong.

One last flash of light lit the room, & coming out with it, was a certain blonde mechanic.

A very _pissed off_ blonde mechanic at that.

Her face red with anger, Winry stood up, & stomped her way over to the Elric brothers. Glaring at them both, she then proceeded to bash their heads together, making them yelp in pain. Ed was the first to form words.

"_**Winry, what the hell**_...!?"

"You two are such _idiots_!! You two think you can just go & _dissappear_ for _good_ without me!?", she reprimanded.

Words failed the Elrics...Well, for a few seconds at least.

"Winry, what the _hell _do you think you're _doing_!?", Ed yelled, "If you don't get back through the portal, you'll never be able to go back to Amestris!!"

Winry smiled softly. "...I know. You guys have left me out of your adventures for too long."

Ed stuttered out a few incompleted words, soon just settling for an aggravated groan. Al stepped forward.

"Winry, the Gate. What did you give up to get through it in one piece?", he asked.

Winry looked back at the slowly dimming Gate, & her eyes fell closed. "...I gave up my whole life. My hometown, my job, & my friends. I gave up my home in Amestris for good.", she answered.

Ed & Al stared. Winry had given up everything she'd ever known...just to follow them to this world. They suddenly felt that they didn't deserve a friend like her.

Winry then snapped her head around to the boys once more, a determined expression on her face. "Plus, I can't expect _Ed_ to fix his automail if he breaks it at some point. And Alphonse can't be responsible for _all_ the cooking in this house!", Winry explained & looked with a grimance at the dustiness of the furniture. "Looks like this place needs a woman's touch anyway."

Winry turned to Edward. "And besides,...Trisha needs a mother in her life, _**Edward**_."

Ed felt his face heat up, while Al held back a couple of snickers. Ed then slumped against the kitchen's doorframe, defeated.

"I'm..._never_ gonna get rid of you, _am_ I?", he asked.

Winry Rockbell smiled & shook her head. "Not in_ your _lifetime."

The Gate winked out of sight.

-------------------------------------------------------------

**(Three Years Later)**

Trisha happily skipped through the grass of her backyard, her right hand grasping her baby brother's tightly. She loved her brother, even if he _was_ 4 years younger than her.

Alfons had been born a year after her Daddy & Auntie Winry got married, & during his birth her Daddy had been a wreck. Uncle Al had managed to keep him from wearing a hole in the floor because of his pacing though.

Even though having a baby brother meant she had to have more 'responsibilities' as her Daddy said, it was also really fun. She had prided herself with the job of teaching Alfons everything _she_ learned during her 6 years of life. Her Uncle Al had also met a pretty lady named Miss. Riley. She had pretty long, black hair & looked kinda like she was part chinese. Trisha liked her. She & Mommy Winry got along really well, both of them being interested in things that her Daddy or other big men liked.

(A/N: Trisha now calls Winry 'Mommy Winry' since she's married to Ed now. Duh.)

Trisha stopped skipping, as she felt her brother's hand jerk out of her grip. She turned to see Alfons on the ground, on the verge of tears. She then saw the small cut on his knee, a bit of blood already leaking from it. Trisha knelt down before Alfons, & started to wipe off the red liquid with a hankerchief that she kept in her pocket.

"It's okay Alfons, we can go back & have Daddy & Mommy Winry give you a bandage. Kay?", Trisha then wrapped her arms around her baby brother, & heard his sobs soon diminish into small sniffles. Alfons then wrapped his own arms around his sister, & Trisha smiled at the action.

Even though having Alfons around was hard work, Trisha thought, her Daddy had been right. Her Daddy had told her that when you have someone you care about, like a little brother, you should always be there for them.

When Alfons needed her, he felt comfort & safety. And he was happy knowing that people cared about him. And when Trisha helped Alfons, it gave her comfort and joy to know that she had someone who needed her to protect them.

Comfort for comfort.

'_Just like Daddy said._', Trisha thought.

'_It's all about __**'equivelant exchange'**_'

**FIN**

(A/N: Well, there ya go! It's _finally_ finished!! Hope u enjoyed it!)


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